December 10th-Rescued Corner Cabinet

Just so people don't think my house is full of garbage after this post, I wanted to show everyone a piece that I finished this week, that I am particularly excited about!  All I really did was paint it, although I do think it was an inspired choice of trash picking genius when I found it.

This cabinet was one of those corner built in cabinets that a lot of houses had in the 30's and 40's. I should have taken a picture of it when I first brought it home as it had no back. Just a skeleton frame in the back and shelves. I had Michael put beadboard in the back, reinforce the sides a little and make it a freestanding unit. I used beadboard because once that red wallpaper comes down from the kitchen someone is installing beadboard in this particular part of the kitchen. You can see in the picture the wood on each side and see how much more substantial the piece looks with that extra wood once I painted it.

For those of you not in the know, Michael is not my husband. Michael is my friend Kristin's husband. This week at Garden Club Kristin described him as Deanna's and my older brother. I described him as a huge pain-in-the-ass that I adore. (Yes, Michael, I do, in fact, like you. There, I've said it. Publicly even.)

Michael and I have a symbiotic relationship in that he likes doing things for people (even though he pretends this is not the case) and I like having things done for me. (Something I am not at all shy about) It all works out rather nicely I think. He has hung shelves, installed crown molding, fixed electrical outlets, ground stumps, helped me with a decorating dilemma involving the dining room chandelier and dropped off wood for the fireplace and as much free packing material as I need from the cabinets that he installs. (His custom kitchen work is to die for!) One unfortunate day he stopped over just as my neighbor was throwing out old doors and I made had him take the glass knobs off and install them in my house.

I did actually come by the work on this cabinet honestly, I sold a bunch of his tools on eBay for him in trade. The other stuff, not so much.

I think the materials for this project cost around $25. Add to that paint, (which was $23 but I hardly used any and I will be using it for the trim in the kitchen when I paint, and a $10 paint brush (I always use Purdy brushes when I paint. They are more expensive but so worth it. I don't buy a new one with each project mind you but I was in need of a new one anyway). New glass knobs were $5 each.

All in all, it was a pretty inexpensively piece of furniture, except for the fact that my debt to Michael is ever growing....

Extreme Makeover

I know you've all been waiting patiently to see what I spent the rest of my money on during January!

Here it is!

I found this bench frame on the side of the road. It was sturdy and someone had attemplted a bad faux finish on it. Some of the wood on the sides was peeling off. It had no seat.

Michael cut me a seat out of some scrap wood that he had and I glued the wood with some wood glue. If I was really concientious I would have sanded the whole thing a little. But I didn't. I just gave it 2 coats of black paint that I had laying around from something else. I used a staple gun to attach the fabric to the bottom of the seat.

The foam for the seat, material and fringe cost $26. I could have probably done the whole thing for $10 If I really tried but I really liked what I picked out. I also have a little leftover to make a pillow.